The Legend

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

One Update (Card)

In terms of Pirates it has been a pretty quiet year for new cards in Topps sets. Jung Ho Kang was the only new Pirate prominently featured, but his prices are still through the roof. I really didn't mind as I used the time to focus on older releases and my WVU collection.

I knew my best chance for some unique Pirates this year would be Topps Update. With the expanded checklist the chances of more obscure additions were feasible. I had high hopes and Topps really delivered with the likes of Sean Rodriguez, Joe Blanton, Travis Ishikawa and Mike Morse just to name a few.

My first addition came in the mail today.

2015 Topps Update Joe Blanton Magenta Printing Plate

I'm a sucker for the obscure parallels of short stay Buccos.

Joe Blanton career was pretty much all but over last offseason, but after a workout with former Pirate Zach Duke the desire to pitch hit again. Duke noticed that Blanton was throwing hard and convinced him to give it one more shot. He caught on with Kansas City and worked himself into a bullpen roll, but was ultimately designated for assignment because of a roster crunch. The Pirates swooped in and the rest was history. Blanton was lights out for the Buccos. He was dominating in long inning relief and was to key to winning several extra inning games. Always cool to see guys revitalize their careers.

If you find any cool parallels of the Buccos from this set let me know.